At its Interim Meeting this past December, the American Medical
Association House of Delegates (AMA-HOD) considered many resolutions
and reports submitted by the AMA Resident Physicians Section (RPS). The
resolutions summarized below concern HOD actions on these resolutions.
A complete summary of all HOD actions is available at
http://www.ama-assn.org/meetings/public/int1998/reports/reports.htm.

Adjusting the Size of the Educational Pipeline. This
report stemmed from an RPS resolution calling for the AMA and other
organizations to develop recommendations regarding the number of
students graduating from US medical schools, because it is widely
believed that the United States will soon have an oversupply of
physicians. In an effort to develop a consensus opinion, the AMA's
Council on Medical Education will hold an open hearing on this topic in
the spring of 1999.

Definition of a Resident. This report recommended an
expansion and clarification of the AMA's definition of the term
resident and a change in the section name from the Resident
Physicians Section to the Resident and Fellow Section. The new name,
which applies only to membership status in the AMA, includes physicians
who are participating in a structured educational program after
residency training (eg, pursuing an MBA) and physicians on active duty
in the military or Public Health Service who have not completed
residency.

Training in Reimbursement Coding During Residency. This
resolution asked the AMA to encourage residency programs to incorporate
practice management training and proper reimbursement cod-ing and
documentation instruction in their curricula.

Response to the Federation of State Medical Boards Recommendations
on Licensure. This resolution called on the AMA to collaborate with
other organizations to develop model legislation on state licensure
requirements that protect public safety. The resolution was submitted
in response to Federation of State Medical Boards proposals regarding
licensure for residents (please see last week's Resident Forum
column).

Use of Social Security Numbers in Student Loan Accounts. This
resolution asked the AMA to work with student loan servicing agencies
and other agencies to end the use of social security numbers as account
numbers, which places borrowers at risk for fraudulent activity.

Truth in Nutrition Labeling. This report was prepared in
response to a resolution from the RPS asking the AMA to encourage the
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require that manufacturers
publish nutritional information regarding transfatty acid levels on
food packaging. The original resolution was not adopted because the HOD
learned that the FDA has just recently proposed this as a new
requirement.

Increasing Antibiotic Resistance Awareness. This resolution
asked the AMA to encourage health agencies to educate the public about
the judicious use of antibiotics and the increasing problem of
antibiotic-resistant pathogens. The HOD reaffirmed current AMA policy,
which it felt adequately addressed the intent of this resolution.

Treatment of Chlamydia trachomatis. This resolution asked the
AMA to encourage state health departments to ensure that patients
infected with Chlamydia trachomatis receive proper medical and
follow-up treatment. Although there was considerable support for the
intent of the resolution, the HOD felt that current AMA policy already
addressed this topic so current policy was reaffirmed.